I hope everyone has sufficiently recovered from their Halloween Candy Coma. I “handed out candy” to children – which realistically turned into me hoarding the majority for myself. Hey- I am saving them from the obesity epidemic. I’m thoughtful like that.
But let’s talk about real food. Healthy food. Vegetarian food? You are going to want to make this…
When I first moved to Toronto, I spent a year living with my aunt and her family. It was the perfect amount of home while being alone in the big city. She also happens to be vegetarian. And an amazing cook (which I am sure I have mentioned time and time again).
While I will never be a full vegetarian (5 years working at a high-end butcher shop will do that to you), I do like to try and eat veg half the time. It adds a bit of variety to my cooking and also allows me to get really creative with spice and flavours since vegetarian cooking tends to not have that added advantage of the flavourful animal fat.
One of my favourite things my aunt made was her baked tofu. The texture was phenomenal and the flavour is delicious. Even people who are proclaimed tofu haters love this recipe. I am telling you – it is definitely worth trying. You’ll love it.
I have been meaning to post this recipe since she first introduced me to it. But I always was too scared it wouldn’t photograph well. So I decided to pair it with a super colourful, asian-inspired salad to play off the teriyaki tofu – and came up with a dressing which I am totally in love with.
Baked Teriyaki Tofu & Asian Noodle Cabbage Slaw
Print RecipeIngredients
- Tofu:
- 1 block extra firm tofu (454g)- drain, cut into 6-7 slabs, then cut those into triangles
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 1/2 - 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or gluten free Tamari
- water
- sesame seeds
- Salad:
- 1 small head Nappa cabbage sliced finely
- 1-2 medium carrots, julienned or grated (use a mandolin if you have it!)
- 1 cup edamame (shelled)
- 1 bunch green onions sliced 1/4 inch on a bias (diagonal)
- 1 bunch buckwheat noodles
- Dressing:
- 2 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce or gluten free Tamari
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- minced garlic (1 clove)
- 2-3 tsp maple syrup
- 2-3 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Sriracha
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a 9x9 pyrex baking dish, layer the tofu on to the bottom (it will be tight!).
Mix the garlic, ginger, oil, maple syrup, and soy sauce together. Poor over the tofu.
Add enough water to JUST come up to the top of the tofu (see photo above). Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 40-60 minutes or until the water is completely gone.
Combine the cabbage, carrots, edamame and green onions in a large bowl.
Cook the buckwheat noodles until al danté according to package directions. Drain (reserve 1/4 cup starchy pasta water) and rinse with cool water. Add them to the bowl.
Mix the dressing ingredients together until well combined. Add to the salad and mix well.
Serve the salad at room temperature, topped with the hot baked tofu triangles. Enjoy
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